There was a knock on my front door. I looked out the window only to
find a Washington County Deputy Sheriff in a very dirty uniform. I
opened the door and invited him in to wash up but he smiled ruefully and
refused. So I walked out on the deck and handed him my garden hose. As
he washed off some of the mud and clay he started to explain. He had
been chasing some miscreant when they came up into our labyrinth of dead
end roads. He told me he followed where his GPS told him to go. I could
not help but chuckle. GPS can’t tell you where to go, it can only tell
you where you are. A compass and an up to date map are far more
effective tools.

Just by looking at him I could tell which road he had gotten stuck in
near my house. The 4WD folks from the area love to go out in groups and
drive a certain road and get themselves mired up to their axles. They
travel in groups so they can pull each other out. He agreed to the
location and asked me for help. My F250 was in use and not available.
So I called my neighbor. A third generation native who knows the elk by
name. I told him the story, he laughed, and said give him ten minutes.
I relayed the information to the deputy and we sat on the deck to wait.
When my neighbor showed up I asked him to help the deputy find his
way around our mountain roads. He was more than willing to help. The
deputy came by a few days later in a much cleaner uniform and thanked
me. He told me my neighbor took a few hours and showed him which roads
were passable and which were not. The moral of the story: don’t trust
where your GPS tells you to go.

Propagation has been approved by Wayne himself. Cool. The solar wind
does have something to do with it too. There may be some hiss and some
odd whistling noises but that is part of the fun.